RIT

So I just got my acceptance letter to RIT today. This has probably been one of the most relieving things to happen to me in a long time. This was the first school that got back to me that I submitted a portfolio to and it is also one of my favorite schools that I applied to. RIT is making huge advances in their design programs to try and merge design and technology which is really where I want to be. They recently opened a new building called the Vignelli Design Center, and the Vignellis are my biggest design idols. Having their name attached to the school makes me want to study there even more.
Deciding what school to go to is going to be tough, but I am starting to think that RIT is where I might get the best education for industrial design because the focus of the school isn't on art. Everyone there is sort of working towards furthering the world technologically. Being surrounded by video game designers and computer science majors is a totally different experience than being surrounded by only artists.  
When I went to the portfolio day at Purchase College and showed my work to the RIT people, they were the most critical, so I was actually a bit surprised that it was the first school to get back to me. It's a huge confidence booster because now my portfolio feels justified because a school has accepted it. I wasn't expecting to get any notification from RIT until March, because that is when they said they'd get back. I am still waiting on other schools, but right now, RIT is one of my favorites. What makes it great is the focus the school has on computers and technology. The feeling I get from schools like Pratt and Parsons is that design is this extension of art. I was watching a video of the President of RIT talking about the school and the way he addressed design was through a more progressive view. He saw it as a way to enhance technology, not as a spin-off of art.